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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 168 — Notional income of skilled worker — Carpenter — Assessment — The appellant, a carpenter aged 38 years, suffered amputation of his right leg below the knee in a road accident in November 2004 — The Claims Tribunal assessed his monthly income at Rs. 3,000/- and the High Court enhanced it to Rs. 5,000/- relying on minimum wages. Held — A carpenter is a skilled artisan who works with precision and manual dexterity — His income cannot be equated with that of an unskilled worker — Where the appellant’s unrefuted evidence showed earnings of Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month, and a skilled job always has the potentiality to fetch higher income, the High Court erred in restricting the figure to Rs. 5,000/- — Considering the date of accident, decisions in comparable cases and the fact of the appellant being a skilled worker, his notional monthly income is assessed at Rs. 9,000/- per month. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304 Part II — Culpable Homicide not Amounting to Murder — Conviction and sentence — Appeal against — Abatement of appeal due to death of co-accused — Death of two appellants during pendency of appeal — Appeal survives only for the third appellant. Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 — Section 154 — Transfer of land in contravention of ceiling limit — Not void ipso facto — Capable of ratification — Legality of transfer to be judged by law on date of execution — Sale deed executed on 04.06.1957 — Ceiling limit then was 30 acres, subsequently amended to 12.5 acres retrospectively from 01.07.1952 — Transfer in contravention of Section 154 not void but voidable at instance of Gaon Sabha coupled with liability for ejectment of transferee under Section 163 — No suit filed for ejectment within limitation period. Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 16(c) — “Readiness and Willingness” — Relief of specific performance is equitable and discretionary — Plaintiff must specifically aver and prove continuous readiness and willingness to perform obligations — Failure to do so disentitles plaintiff to relief — “Readiness” refers to financial capacity, “Willingness” to conduct and intention — Both cumulatively must be seen — Conduct of plaintiff prior and subsequent to suit, along with attending circumstances, must be considered — Availability of funds must be proved with reference to relevant time, not by documents created much later. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 and 140 — Compensation for death in motor vehicular accident — Negligence — Truck stationed on road at night without warning lights or indicators — Wagon-R car collided from behind — Held, truck driver was negligent in leaving the vehicle unattended on the road without adequate precautionary measures, which was the proximate cause of the accident.

“Upbringing vs. Biology: Supreme Court Prioritizes Stability Over Paternal Claim in Custody Battle” The Supreme Court allowed the appeal of the aunt and set aside the order of the High Court, which had directed the custody of the child to be handed over to the father – The Supreme Court relied on the principles of child welfare, stability, and preference, and found that the child was happy, intelligent, and categorical in her wish to live with the aunt

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHAZIA AMAN KHAN AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF ORISSA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal,…

Will was not surrounded by suspicious circumstances, as the testator was in good health and senses, the scribe and one of the witnesses were consistent, the testator had left sufficient property for his widow and daughter, and the respondent had taken care of the testator and his property – It also held that the high court was justified in interfering with the first appellate court’s findings, as they were perverse and contrary to the evidence on record

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THANGAM AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. NAVAMANI AMMAL — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 8935…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 – Sections 197, 200 and 202 – Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 323, 294, 427, 341, 447, 506B read with Section 34 and Sections 107, 141 of the – Illegally capturing of land and breaking of fencing – Criminal appeal filed by the appellants, who are officers of the Special Armed Forces (SAF), – held that the appellants acted in the performance of their statutory duties as officers of the SAF, and therefore, sanction was required to prosecute them – The court also found that the complaint lacked material particulars and evidence to support the allegations.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MURARI LAL CHHARI AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. MUNISHWAR SINGH TOMAR AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan,…

Suit for specific performance – Suit for specific performance of an agreement for sale executed by the respondent in their favour in respect of a plot of land in Chandigarh – The Supreme Court held that the appellants were disentitled to the relief of specific performance due to their conduct of making false and/or incorrect statements in the plaint – The Supreme Court also held that the appellants did not give up their claim against the co-sharers of the respondent who were not parties to the suit.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MAJOR GEN. DARSHAN SINGH (D) BY LRS. AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. BRIJ BHUSHAN CHAUDHARY (D) BY LRS. — Respondent ( Before : Abhay…

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(c) – Seizure of ganja from four accused under the NDPS Act – The Court pointed out the glaring loopholes and fatal flaws in the prosecution case, such as the doubtful weighment of the contraband, the flawed sampling procedure, the missing link evidence, the inadmissible confession, and the illegal conviction of the appellants who were not present at the spot.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOHAMMED KHALID AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF TELANGANA — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Consumer Law – they neither have the skills nor the expertise to do so. However, they are liable to pay the monetary compensation as directed by the consumer forums from the estate of the deceased developer – The court applied the principles of contract law, consumer protection law, and succession law to arrive at its decision – It distinguished between proprietary rights and personal rights, and between inheritable rights and uninheritable rights – It also discussed the nature and status of a proprietary concern and its legal representatives.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VINAYAK PURSHOTTAM DUBE (DECEASED), THROUGH LRS — Appellant Vs. JAYASHREE PADAMKAR BHAT AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan,…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Section 306 – Abetment of Suicide – The Supreme Court reiterated that to constitute abetment, there must be a positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused, which led or compelled the person to commit suicide – The Supreme Court also stated that mere allegation of harassment without any direct or indirect act of incitement to the commission of suicide would not amount to abetment

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KUMAR @ SHIVA KUMAR — Appellant Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA — Respondent ( Before : Bela M. Trivedi and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ. ) Criminal…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Section 11(6) – Whether the Limitation Act, 1963 is applicable to an application for appointment of arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – The court allows the petition and appoints a former judge of the Supreme Court as the sole arbitrator – The court also suggests that the Parliament should consider bringing an amendment to the Act, 1996 prescribing a specific period of limitation for filing an application under Section 11 of the Act, 1996

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S ARIF AZIM CO. LTD. — Appellant Vs. M/S APTECH LTD — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, CJI., J.B. Pardiwala and…

Amendment of Plaint – Amendment of the plaint in a suit for partition of ancestral property -The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the High Court, holding that the amendment was not permissible as it would change the nature and character of the suit, cause prejudice to the appellant, and was barred by limitation and res judicata -The Court relied on the provisions of Order VI Rule 17 and Order XXIII Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the precedents of this Court (M. Revanna v. Anjanamma (Dead) by legal representatives and others, (2019) 4 SCC 332 ) on the scope and limitations of amendment of pleadings and challenge to compromise decrees.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BASAVARAJ — Appellant Vs. INDIRA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 2886 of…

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